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Don’t ask me why I’m dredging up this ancient post, but as someone who spends some time thinking about this for headcanons and personal fiction, my own breakdown is similar.

Note this totally disregards anything on tech specs and is mostly limited to the Ark crew.

Supreme Commander: Optimus Prime, the highest of the high.

Command Staff: Prowl and Jazz. Prime’s left and right hand. Of equal rank, but differing specialties. Ultra Magnus and Elita would probably outrank them, however.

Senior Officers: Rachet, Wheeljack, Red Alert, Skyfire/Jetfire, Ironhide. People with significant rank and experience, sometimes with the word “chief” somewhere in their function, such as Ratchet’s Chief Medical Officer. Ironhide occupies a kind of “first sergeant” style rank, acting as a bridge between officers and the more general ranks. All very capable of commanding people beneath them, and therefore something of an extension of the command element.

Officers: Trailbreaker, Perceptor, Blaster, Omega Supreme, Silverbolt, Hot Spot, and Grimlock. First Aid also falls here. Well ranked and order givers, with lots of responsibility (ie, Blaster being the communications officer). Team leaders, plus First Aid’s Doctor status.

Specialists: Basically anyone left who doesn’t have “warrior” as their function. People with specialized skills and knowledge. Can give orders to the below or lead a small team

Hound, Bumblebee, Mirage, Smokescreen, Seaspray, Cosmos, Powerglide, Warpath, Powerglide, Skydive

Also under this category are Huffer, Grapple, Hoist, Beachcomber, and Skids, who typically aren’t issuing orders except under their specific purviews.

Soldiers: Everyone else. Your basic grunts. Cliffjumper, Bluestreak, Windcharger, Gears, Brawn, Sideswipe, Sunstreaker, Tracks, Inferno, and the other combiner team members.

Autobots’ Military Structure

EXPLAINED

For Generation One, at least. The Autobots do seem to follow a strict military structure. With references to officers, special operations units, intelligence, as well as various specialist in their fields. 

I am going to attempt to explain how this structure works and how many of the top ranking Autobots fall into and their actual positions other than the generic “officer” title. 

Let’s start from the bottom and work our way up.

Enlisted personnel: E1 - E6

These would be your more basic soldiers. You’re “frontliner” if you will. These are the ranks where most of the grunt work comes from. They often have no say in the command they are assigned and are strictly there to follow orders and do their job. Not to say there is no authority within these position, but they are the most common. 

E1s are the fresh from bootcamp soldiers. Which Grimlock and his team would be. Making them the lowest ranking Autobots right next to the Aerialbots. Though with their own unique cybertronian military structure, the Aerialbots’ gestalt leader would likely have been advanced to that of an E6, without the usual preamble of time in rank and qualification tests. Same with the Dinobots’ Grimlock. As an E6 is typically put in charge of small groups, squadrons or units. One step below and actual Chief/Gunnery Sargeant. Which we will get to next.

Enlisted personnel: E7 - E9

These are your Chiefs/First Sergeants/Master Gunnery Sergeant/Marines have too many names for the same rank. They are held in high regard and are positions of authority. They are often tasked with the real work of the . Making decisions and commanding the army on a more personal level than that of an officer. They take a direct role with the lower enlisted personnel. 

 It also explains why a seasoned veteran like Kup would take direction from someone as seemingly inexperienced as Hot Rod. As while a Master Chief/Master Gunnery Sergeant ( E9 ) is one of the most respected and revered of ranks. As they are titles earned by only the best of the best and only after putting in many, many years of service. Even a fresh to the service Ensign would outrank him. As all officers outranks all enlisted personnel regardless of time spent serving.

Also, yes Bumblebee is a Chief. 

Warrant Officers: W1 - W5

Warrant officers are rare, as it it more difficult to become a Warrant Officer than any other rank. Barring that of the highest officer ranks. They do not hold actual sway over the direction the army goes unless it pertains to their own specialization.  Within the army itself, Warrant Officers are highly respected and revered for their skill. 

They are subject experts in their chosen field. No one knows more than they do about their particular topic. With Ironhide, it would be weapons. Meaning he is the point of reference for all things involving weaponry within the Autobot army. The same would be for Wheeljack within the scientific side of the war effort. Blaster for communications, etc. This explains that while they obviously hold authority and their opinions are so highly regarded by the Prime. While they don’t hold an actual command over the army as a whole. Though this does vary for cybertronians. As Ironhide has been placed in charge due to the high death rate of the Autobot army officers and there being a lack of qualified officers to fill a command role.

Officers: O1 - O4

These would be the Junior Officers. Your Ensigns to your Lieutenant Commanders. Not much experience is needed for theses ranks and they joined by way of contract and specialized schooling. This is not to say those who have these ranks are to be disrespected. They hold authority over even the most senior of enlisted soldiers. They also can be appointed positions of higher authority than their rank would typically allow. Depending on skill set and how they present themselves as an asset to the command they are assigned.

Officers: O5 - O6

Your Captains and Commanders. Captain does not automatically mean they are in charge of a ship. They hold that capability, but do not always act as the XO (Executive Officer) of a vessel. These are the second rarest next to Warrant Officers. Usually, they are the highest ranking at a command. With the exception of a Flag Ship, which the Ark arguably is. The hold the utmost Authority over a command. With Ratchet this would be the medbay of the Ark. Though with within the medical field reaching such a high rank is rare, meaning he would be the point of contact and set standards as far as all medbays within the army are to uphold. 

Officers: O7 - O11

The leaders. Admirals. Though with cybertronian variants of the term. They take ultimate responsibility over the entire army. Their orders are not questioned and their authority absolute. With Fleet Admiral (O11) being the rank of Prime. Giving Optimus Prime a special kind of authority, though only during times of war. Where their call is the ultimate call, even over other Admiral’s. 

Elita-1 would be a Four Star Admiral. Giving her command over the war effort still ongoing on Cybertron. Then there is Prowl and Jazz, who fall in the middle. With Prowl being a three star and Jazz either two or one. This would make them report and be accountable to none other except Optimus Prime, as they are part of the Ark crew and the command on earth. However were they to be reassigned to Cybertron, it would still be Optimus Prime, but also Elita-1 right after him. 

Special Warfare Combatant-craft Crewmen: S.W.C.C

The all-stars. Especially the Wreckers, which could be equated to that of a Navy Seal. So when they have the lower ranked bots excited for the Wreckers, treating them like celebrities. It’s actually a fairly accurate representation. These are the soldiers with the strongest wills and best skill sets to carry out a mission. They still have to adhere to rank, same as the enlisted soldiers, but they are given their own specific commander. And when an enlisted soldier meets one, even if it’s only for a few minutes, it’s all that soldier will talk about for the next several weeks. (Not an exaggeration)

Then you have the HUMINT agents, the ones who gather the intelligence and spy. Though the army wouldn’t actually call it spying. Though they cybertronian equivalent would likely be called CYBINT. As this stands for cybertronian intelligence gathering. Meaning they get up close and personal with the enemy. Their identities are often not known. Though even an agent with a blown cover can still be useful. Especially if they have the unique ability to become invisible or create holograms.

There. 

Now, if there are any questions regarding this, mun is free to answer them. This wasn’t overly detailed, as there are special nuances to each rank, within that rank. Such as rates. Which seem cybertronians seem to differentiate from conventional norms on that front. There is no “science” rate. Though the officer’s positions being mostly political outside times of war they got spot on.

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Sometimes I’m watching a video game analysis video and I’m having a good time maybe I’ll check out more of this person’s content later and then they randomly start going on a rant about pissy games journalists who think that all games should have an easy mode and how stupid easy video games are and I have to click off

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A lot like similar energy vampire Sauron over at Marvel, the Parasite raises a lot of ethical questions. He obviously needs a steady supply of energy to live, and that energy comes from people. And he seems to require it very often. At least he doesn’t have to take it all in one go.

(Or at least living beings. There’s a scene in Suicide Squad with the post Crisis Parasite being kept alive on a steady diet of small mammals like rats).

Granted, this guy’s kind of a shithead, but he doesn’t deserve to starve to death because of it.

Talk about the worst city Parasite could have been born in! Any other city in this universe and he wouldn't be a WMD waiting to happen Action Comics 340

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How often do you think Clark uses that super hearing claim to get out of anything he doesn’t want to do or a conversation he doesn’t want to have?

Even when there is no emergency he makes one up so he doesn't stick around long enough for them to pin medals on him. Action Comics 340

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The Ascent of Prime

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yknow what chilchuck deserved that sex ed talk maybe if someone told him about safe sex earlier he wouldn't of ended up divorced with 3 kids

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I mean, you’re not wrong.

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I can’t help but wonder if the reason Silver Age Clark does so much science is as a way to feel closer to Jor-El.

Clark would get SO MANY voicemails from scientists for stuff like this Action Comics 340

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For 60’s DC, that featureless face is a pretty horrifying design.

Oh! He's here! He's here he's here! One more W for the rogue's gallery ladies and gents! Action Comics 340

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Wait until he learns his descendant has been making out with her!

(Also, apparently even evil androids aren’t immune to sexism)

Wait until he learns that Superman's baby cousin is more than enough to hand him his green ego Action Comics 339

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He really did.

Conan is not a dumb man, he just tends to let people think he is. Conan the Barbarian 119

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Just doing a cursory look to refresh my memory of what was what around “now”, outside of the then ten members of the JLA, you’d have at least

The Teen Titans

The Doom Patrol

The Metal Men

The Blackhawks

The Challengers of the Unknown

Metamorpho

Animal Man

Prince Ra-Man

Adam Strange

The Sea Devils

Cave Carson and his team

Hawkgirl (not yet a JLA member)

Our old friend Congorilla

Rex the Wonder Dog

Robbie Reed (Dial H for Hero)

Jimmy and Lana, who could suit up as Elastic Lad and Insect Queen if required

Plastic Man

The Elongated Man

Zatanna

The possibility of the Legion or JSA dropping by for a visit

The Batmen of Many Nations

Batwoman and Bat-Girl

The Immortal Man

Mera

Zook (Martian Manhunter’s alien pet)

Krypto

Comet

Beppo

Streaky

The Superman and Supergirl Emergency Squads

and, of course, Kara herself!

Earth is FAR from defenseless.

What did you think the JLA left the earth totally undefended? Do you only know like 7 of the dozens and dozens of people fighting this fight? Are you in fact stupid sir? Action Comics 339

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Soooo... did Kara ever tell Clark about this guy? Because I think he'd have follow-up questions.

Oh... ...Kara doesn't play Action Comics 338

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"Doing in the wizard" as it's called.

Not usually a fan of it. And especially not preemptively, like the first Doctor Strange movie or the first two Thor movies, where they dismissed magic as just manipulating the energy of the universe and tried to firmly say the Asgardians were not gods. Both of these were significantly lessened by the time of the following films.

Generally speaking I'm not really a fan of the trope where it turns out that something previously established as being magical turns out to have a science fiction explanation instead.

For example, like how in Ben 10, I believe a character in one season thought that they were learning magic, only for in another for them to learn that it's actually more like a mutant power resulting from them being related to aliens somewhere.

Similarly, as HP Lovecraft's work shifted from fantasy-horror to dark science fiction, things that previously described as being magic (the Dreams of the Witch House, for example) were later reframed as people accessing a kind of math or science that enabled them to bend space-time. The Necronomicon becomes less of an evil spell book, per se, and more a reference book about aliens and their abilities as interpreted by an old timey person who couldn't conceptualise such things.

I don't know, I think that it cheapens it somehow?

I'm somewhat more ambivalent over the Clarke's Law idea (where any sufficiently advanced technology is distinguishable from science), as depending on how it is used it can still act as a overlapping with actual fantasy still. For example, the way magic (and how specifically wizards study/use it) in Terry Pratchett's Discworld series is informed from his time as a press officer for a nuclear power station. Magic is treated in a similar manner to radiation and the like, but still operates AS magic would do.

Interestingly, the manga/anime Dungeon Meshi also puts a tone of worldbuilding into both the ecosystems of magical dungeons as well as the physics of magic itself (the biology of magical creatures, how the energy that powers magic is theorised to come from an alternate dimension "where infinity exists" etc.). It's emphatically still a fantasy setting, tropes and all, but it uses a form of science to explain how magical stuff works while maintaining that it's still all magic, if you get me?

The third option, which tends to be more rare, is the idea that something scientific turns out to have a magical explanation rather than the reverse. So, for example, in the Rivers of London novel Foxglove Summer, protagonist and trainee wizard Peter Grant ends up in part of the UK which tends to have a lot of UFO sightings (rural Herefordshire)... only for it to turn out that the alien sightings and abductions area actually caused by elves very similar to those from the Discworld novels (who exist in a pocket dimension that can only access other worlds at certain times of the year).

This is, itself, an inversion on the theory among UFO enthusiasts that stories about fairies and such in folklore were more primitive folk describing UFO encounters, with it turning out that it was ALWAYS fairies, it's just folks' frame of reference changed for the more "logical" scientific explanation (aliens) instead. This was itself referenced within the Discworld novels themselves, with the coming of the elves being forecast with a sudden spike in crop-circle activity (a phenomena claim is caused by aliens, rather than bored rural folk making Art).

I don't know, it basically comes down to how it's done in all honesty. Personally I like it when Science and magic are defined as two separate things, but I can appreciate when people use science as a way to help conceptualise how magic works in-universe? Such as the time in the comic Planetary where a character uses simplified computer analogies to describe the physics of magic to someone.

Reality has a form of operating system, and magic is the means to manipulate it to the user's own ends via a specific method or sequence of actions.

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biologist here! why are plants green? well they suck up air from the sky (blue) and mix it with the sunlight (yellow) i fucking love science.

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...Huh. Worth chewing over.

Perhaps some day we could have a serious conversation about why despite her amazing character designs and great variety in body types compared to other mangaka, Kui Ryoko still chose to have all but one (two arguably) of the characters with an active leader role in the story of Dungeon Meshi to be men.

Spoilers below.

It is a fantastic manga, to quote a post I've read a while ago (paraphrasing), Dunmeshi is 95 chapters long and no panel is irrelevant. But! Out of all the groups in the story only one is led by a woman (elf queen) and she does not actually participate in it.

Laios' party has Marcille, but she is at best "second in command" if you will, as much as Chilchuck is.

Kabru's party, the orcs, the governor(s), the gnomes' party, the canaries, Shuro's party, the dwarfs and even the golden kingdom (Delgal and Thistle). Fionil and Doni are minor characters and they're a party of two, we could assume both share the "leader" position.

One can find excuses to each of those choices, but at the end of the day the choice was made to make them men.

Kabru could have been a woman, it would not change anything at all.

Zon and Leed could have swapped places, with the older sister leading and taking a less violent approach to the hotheaded younger brother.

Either/both of the governors could have been women, no difference.

The leading, more vocal and abrasive of the gnomes could have been the old lady and the quiet one the old man. I struggle to see if anything would change at all.

The canaries are mostly women, and they were led by Milsiril back in the day and the queen leads them, technically. Still, the choice was made to have Mithrun in the role of Mithrun with everything it represents. Could it have been the younger sister that has her love stolen by the older one, would the dynamics be the same? Tempted to have the life she could not get by the demon, getting eaten (but not fully!) and seeking revenge? Would Milsiril spare her this time? We can't tell, Mithrun is a man. It was a choice made by Kui-sensei.

Could Shuro have been a woman? Seeing as he's the fantasy equivalent of a japanese young lord(!) probably not(?) in terms of how it would be presented. A young lady with her entourage chasing after her unrequited love and getting beaten to it by another lesbian? Sorry but this looks like the kind of ntr I enjoy now. But I don't think it would be the same conflict with Shuro/Marcille and Shuro/Laios. It could(!) work, but not in the kind of story where (almost) all the leaders are men.

Could the dwarves have been women? I don't see why not. Senshi could have been inspired by a mother figure (or older sister) as much as he was by his mentor (whether you see it as a father/older brother/something else figure). All the women in the party starving while the young kid survives? I won't even call it sexist (<- not joking).

Could Delgal have been a queen instead? What about Yaad being a princess? Or Thistle, still a jester but a woman now? Which manga readers thought he was, for a while. It would require an author that doesn't put the importance on the king while the queen is irrelevant.

Am I overthinking things? There are a lot of important characters who are women in the story of Dunmeshi. People have jokingly described the plot as a lesbian trying to resurrect her girlfriend, and it would be accurate although not fully correct.

But the issue remains that all leaders except for the elf queen are men. I don't believe it was by chance. It might have been a deliberate choice for reasons that I can see, or it might have been completely unconscious when designing the characters and writing the story.

What a shame.

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This mystery book series I’m reading is wild. It’s about a eunuch solving crimes in 1830s Istanbul. And in every book so far this dude lovingly cooks about six exquisitely described food-porn-y meals and then cucks European dudes by fucking their wives. Incredible.